Secrets and Lies
by EmmieRoo
Summary: Shikamaru is blaming himself for the death of his comrade. A day after the funeral he's joined by Ayame Narashi. Shikamaru's alarms are going off; she's very suspicious. M for Language and maybe sex stuff later. Please read and review. ShikaxOC
1. Prelude

**I made up my own character (Ayame Narashi), just to clarify. And, to my chagrin, I do not own Naruto. **

**Reviews and comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone. –Emichaan **

_**Prelude:**_

It was a sad day in Konoha. The sky was dark at midday. Not a single white cloud had been present since the morning. And the residents of Konoha were usually so happy; always at peace and smiling, knowing they were safe at the hands of the trained ninja that guarded their great city. But no one had any reason to smile today. Despair had been inflicted on the village like a flurry of kunai. There was no way to avoid this though. No one could do anything about it. Naruto couldn't use his clones as a shield, or summon that troublesome chief toad Gamabunta. Neji and Hinata couldn't use their Triagram defences. And Shikamaru's shadows were worthless in that situation. No one could do anything, no matter what they tried! It was useless. He knew that taking five people on one mission would be troublesome, but he it worked when they tried to track down Sasuke. He hadn't even planned on having a team of five because of the high risk. Shikamaru Nara knew this all too well. But why couldn't he get over it? Surely the ninja with such a high IQ as himself would be able to comprehend something as simple as failure to protect his teammate.

As Shikamaru walked through the damp street, kicking a small pebble across the dirt, he wanted to go over what happened in his head again.

Lady Tsunade told Shikamaru to round up a squad for an A-ranked mission in the land of Claws. There was a series of thefts that they had to investigate, and people who have tried to apprehend the thieves were badly injured. Some were killed. The land of Claws' leader begged for The Leaf's assistance, and Tsunade held Shikamaru in high regard as the village strategist. He chose Neji and Naruto. Neji's Byakugan would have definitely come in handy, and his defences were amazing. But Shikamaru only chose Naruto because he was eavesdropping on the conversation and kept following Shikamaru, begging to come along. He followed him all the way home before Shikamaru lost his cool and agreed to let him come along, but only if he kept his mouth shut and stopped being a bother. He knew he wouldn't be quiet, but it got Naruto off his back for a while. He packed his things and the boys left that night.

On the way there, they were ambushed by masked ninja. Six men and three women, three squads, all from different nations; sound, mist and stone. They thought they were outnumbered, even though Naruto insisted that he use his Multi-Shadow clone jutsu to make the numbers even. Before he could do anything, Ino and Hinata appeared out of nowhere, giving them the reinforcements they needed. They all fought as hard as they could, using the Rasengan, Gentle Fists, Mind control and shadow jutsus. Shikamaru was relieved that Ino and Hinata had come just in time, though he wasn't impressed that they had followed them all the way and disobeyed the Hokage. They made it down to the last two ninjas. The woman was from the sound village, but the man was from the leaf village. Where'd he even come from? It stumped him that they'd be working together, but then he saw the long, thick cut through his head band. He was from the Akatsuki. Before Shikamaru could give it another thought, the man threw a kunai bomb at Shikamaru. The man and woman fled, but the woman had hesitated. Shikamaru froze, and Ino jumped in front of him and took the bomb to the chest.

Shikamaru lost Asuma to the Akatsuki, now he'd lost Ino too. A foreign feeling in his stomach made him feel sick. He frowned. I don't deserve to be a chunin, he told himself. If I didn't freeze up then Ino would still be here. If Ino hadn't followed us that night, she'd still be here. Damn her stubbornness! I bet she dragged Hinata along with her without giving her a say.

Ino stood in front of Shikamaru, her arms in front of her face for protection. But it didn't help. As the bomb hit her, she let out a short scream and was thrown backwards, over Shikamaru, and fell to the ground with a loud _THUD! _Her beautiful blue eyes were wide with shock, and her smooth skin was scarred with burns, dirt and blood. The kunai bomb had blown out her ribcage; it had killed her instantly.

Burdened with his friend's death, he carried her back to the village, abandoning the mission. He reached the Hokage's tower by nightfall, and fell through the doors, soaked in tears and blood. Tsunade called for Shikaku but he was already there, and he pried his son off of his dead friend and took him home instantly. Shikaku and Yoshino didn't let their son out of their embrace that night; even as he cried himself to exhaustion. It was an odd thing for his parents to do, but he took it while it lasted.

Shikamaru pulled his hands out of his pocket and punched the wooden fence next to him. He punched it again and again until his hands were sore and bloody.

What will that solve? He asked himself angrily. Shaking his head and shoving his bloody hands in his pockets, he let his feelings go and kept walking to meet Shikaku, Chouji and his father, and Ino's father. Ino's mother was distraught, and Shikamaru was positive that her father was too, but he didn't show it. He wasn't letting his feelings get the better of him, even if it was his daughter's life that had been taken. That was one of the rules of being a ninja: show no emotion no matter what. But surely a funeral would be an exemption to the rule? Shikamaru didn't know, and didn't care. People would cry, no matter what.

They all made their way to the Hokage's tower and climbed to the top. All the genin were there. Kiba was crying with no expression and Naruto wiped his tears away with his sleeve. Neji, Lee and Shino looked at the ground, their expressions unreadable. All the girls were crying; Gai and Kakashi rested their hands on their fragile students' shoulders. Kurenai was holding Hinata, stroking her hair and trying to shush her.

As if to mark the start of the funeral, it started to rain.

Shikamaru walked next to his father in line, and Chouji to his father. Tsunade stood at the front and spoke, but Shikamaru wasn't listening. He was staring at the clouds. It had rained at the Fourth Hokage's funeral too. It was almost as if the clouds could feel the atmosphere about the village and change to match it. If only Shikamaru was a cloud, then he wouldn't have to be a ninja. He wouldn't have to worry about himself or anyone else. He could just drift with the wind, not caring where it would take him because nothing but it could touch him. He couldn't die; he would only disappear for a while then come back when there was enough water in the air.

To Shikamaru's despair, there was no jutsu that could make him into a cloud. Even if there was, he wouldn't be able to master it. He specialised in shadow techniques, not water jutsus. He came from the Nara clan; he was above elemental jutsus. Although he knew some tricks, he didn't care to use them. They were useless in combat. Shikamaru had done the calculations for success with the simple elemental jutsus he knew a long time ago. None were good.

Tsunade had finished talking by now. She held a white rose in front of her and closed her eyes, frowning. Shaking her head slightly, she placed the rose on the coffin. Ino's mother and father approached the coffin, both of them holding one lily at the same time. Her mother kissed it and placed it next to the rose, then broke into more tears.

As everyone else lined up and placed their white roses on Ino's coffin, Chouji pulled out the red roses he and Shikamaru had bought together earlier that day from the Yamanaka flower shop. He handed it to his friend. Chouji and Shikamaru stood in front of the coffin. A picture of squad ten was set up on a pedestal. Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino were smiling and standing side by side in front of Asuma, who was ruffling Chouji's hair as he gave a big grin. Shikamaru didn't want to be here. He was cold and wet, and no matter how much time he took up standing in front of Ino's coffin, it wouldn't bring her back. He frowned and placed the blue bell on top of the white flowers. Chouji did the same. They accepted that they would probably get in trouble for not putting a white flower on her coffin, but they knew that she would want more than one coloured flower at her funeral. Everyone should have had a different coloured flower for her, but they were following protocol. Chouji and Shikamaru both left the funeral at that time, parting from Ino's body with their treasured memories and hopes that her soul was at peace and heading to a better place.

_**Meanwhile...**_

Ayame was slapped in the face; a powerful backhand that knocked her off her feet and onto the dirt. Dust flew into the air; Ayame coughed as she accidentally inhaled it sharply. The man that had slapped her pulled back his hand and laughed, breaking the spell of silence in the cave they resided in. Ayame got up from the ground and knelt in front of her master again, coughing once more. She let her master down, so the least she could do was show her respect to him. The throbbing in her cheek went away quickly, but it would be there for a while. A mark was always left when her master hit her. Sometimes it scarred. But it only happened if she failed him. She'd gotten physically and mentally stronger and smarter since she first came under her master's wing, and he knew it more than anyone else. Now, instead of cowering at her master's feet, begging him not to hurt her, she took it like a true ninja would. She tried to think that it didn't hurt anymore, that she could take what her master gave her, but she couldn't. It didn't hurt _as much _from when it started, but it still hurt like a bitch. Ayame asked her master why he didn't kill her for failing, being sure to phrase her question respectfully and not make it sound like she wanted to die. Because he would do it if he thought she'd want it. She'd seen it happen before.

He laughed again, as if she'd told him a joke. 'Why would I want to kill you, my dear? With every failure comes a new opportunity, and I know you have some tricks up your sleeve that the people from the Narashi clan taught you,' her master smiled slyly, something Ayame had learned not to trust from her master, 'it's up to you whether you show me yourself or I make you show me. Now get some rest; I have a big day planned for you, my dear.'

'Thank you, master, and goodnight.'

'Goodnight, my dear.'

Ayame got up and walked out of her master's chamber and headed for her room. The cave they lived in was large; with lots of tunnels leading to God knows where. Ayame only knew the way from the entrance to her master's chamber, and then to her room. It was just one big, bizarre maze that only her master knew the way through. She marvelled at his intelligence, and could only hope to be as skilled as him. Her hand lightly brushed over the cool wall of the cave. It was so damp and musty underground, and cold. Ayame hated being cold. But she had to suck it up if she wanted to be a great ninja like her master.

But she was barely getting any credit these days. She wasn't the only one who had been taken under her master's wing. Three years ago, when she had just turned fifteen, her mother and father were killed. She ran away, scared that the people who killed her parents would come after her next. She can't remember how long she ran for; the only thing she could recall was waking up in her room. The other apprentice, a boy, was already there when she'd arrived, and had always been his favourite. Ayame had to admit, the boy frightened her. She didn't know anything about him, and it was not her place to know. He had been there longer than Ayame and, if anything, she had to think of him as a kind of master too.

She turned left, counted eight dim lights and then made a right. Two more lights and she felt the wood beneath her fingertips. My room, she thought to herself. She opened the door and went inside; glad to be in a place she could kind of call home.

Ayame was grateful for her room. It was big enough for her taste, even if the bed took up half the space. But it was extremely comfortable, something she was also grateful for being given. A desk was next to her bed with a mirror hanging from the wall. Ayame never looked in the mirror. She didn't like seeing her reflection because she always managed to see parts of her parents. Her mother's beautiful violet-coloured eyes and light brown hair; her father's nose – she hated seeing them in her looks. They were dead and she hated constantly reminding herself that. Three years and she was yet to get over her parents' death. She ran from it for the soul reason to get away from her feelings.

Books of many shapes and colours were scattered all over her floor. She spent many of her hours researching new jutsus that she could use in battle. Healing jutsus, defensive jutsus, offensive jutsus, Genjutsus Ayame had never dreamed of before; all of these things crawled beneath the parchment. Paper was scattered around the room too. She'd taken notes from all of the strategy books at her disposal. She craved knowledge. It was one thing she could always get with her master. He always taught her something new. Ayame had always been a fast learner.

Stripping down to her singlet and shorts, she ducked under the covers on her bed before the cold could touch her skin and wondered what her master had in store for her tomorrow until she fell asleep.

'_There's been an accident at the Leaf Village. And you'll be the one to fix it. You will leave before sun rise. Work your magic, my dear, and win them over. Dance into their hearts, and we strike there.'_

**Okay. There's the Prelude. Again, comments and/or reviews would be great. Thanks.**

– **Emichaan **


	2. Chapter 1: Blossoming Danger

**I made up Ayame, Amayatsu, Amachi, Amade and Amatomaru. I know, they're silly names, but I like them. **

**I do not own Naruto, or the characters or anything. But Shikamaru can own me any day… **

**Please review. Thanks. *hugs* – Emichaan. **

_**~ Chapter One ~**_

_**~ Blossoming Danger ~**_

Shikamaru woke up with a bitch of a headache. Someone was being loud in his kitchen, and he wasn't impressed. It wouldn't be his mother; even though she's a bat and constantly checked up on him unannounced, she knew that he hated early morning visits and, to his surprise, she respected his wishes that he leave her alone until the afternoon. The sheets he slept under were nice and warm, pulled all the way up to his cheek. He wanted to fall asleep again, but someone was making a ruckus that he absolutely had to put a stop to.

He got out of bed; surprised to find the air was warm considering the rain they had last night. Last night. What had happened last night? His head throbbed and everything swayed for a few seconds. Damn, must be a stupid hangover. He groaned and half walked half staggered out of his room and into the kitchen.

Last night he'd gone drinking with Chouji. He remembered now. Sake was being poured left right and centre, and Shikamaru was drunk before anyone knew it – especially before Chouji knew it. Oh, right, Chouji. _He_ m_ust have crashed for the night – again._

Nonetheless, his best friend was in the kitchen cooking breakfast. To Shikamaru's despair, Chouji didn't know where anything was so he simply resorted to moving things and banging them together and against the cupboards until he found what he was looking for.

Shikamaru sighed and sat down at his table. It was covered with discarded instant ramen cups, cigarette ashes and sake bottles; his typical dinner and entertainment every night, all wrapped up in one. He'd have to get to that later when he wasn't so hung over. So basically he'd get to it tomorrow; or possibly the next day, depending if he got a mission or not. But he doubted he or his friend would get a mission of any sort in the next few days; possibly weeks. This also depended on when his hangover ended.

'Morning, buddy,' Chouji greeted Shikamaru, 'sleep well?'

'Slept well, but I'd still be sleeping if you weren't being so loud, Chouji.'

'Oh boo hoo. I made you breakfast, so be grateful.'

He placed a bowl in front of Shikamaru and they started eating. Shikamaru didn't know what he was eating, he couldn't really taste it over the taste of cigarettes, but it filled his empty stomach well.

'Shizune dropped by earlier too.'

'Urgh, why does everyone have to be up so early?'

'She wanted you to know that we're going to be continuing our missions like normal.'

'No one should get up this early; it's completely ridiculous.'

'She wants us to meet our new teammate.'

'Damn hangovers, good for –wait what?'

'I said we have a new teammate.' Chouji frowned.

Shikamaru got up and placed his bowl in the sink.

'That didn't take Tsunade long.' He said, annoyed.

'Yeah, I'm not happy either. That's why I figured I'd tell you while you ate. People rarely get angry when they're eating. I might have waited a little too long though...'

Shikamaru couldn't help but think about this. Did Tsunade have a line of people waiting to be replacements for fallen ninja? Because there was no way she could find someone that quickly unless she was extremely lucky. It was a bit cold hearted of her to bring someone new into their team, into their lives, so quickly. They'd only just started mourning for Ino, and Tsunade was already throwing someone else at them. Was she trying to fill the hole that Shikamaru and Chouji had inflicted on them after their comrade had just died? Surely she wouldn't... would she?

'Have a shower, Shikamaru; you stink of cigarettes and sake. I'll meet you at the gates of the Hokage Tower in half an hour.'

'You got it, buddy.'

'Boys, this is your new teammate. You can get details over ramen or something, all you guys need to know is that she came here this morning and, luckily for us _and _the village, Ayame Narashi used to live here a few years ago and was taught under, Ebisu, Guy and Anko, so you can guess from the latter that she doesn't kid around on missions.' Shikamaru raised one eyebrow. Is she serious? 'She was a chunin when she left –which was when she was a child– and she still is now, which means that she and you, Shikamaru, will be spending a lot of time together. Not only for missions, but I'm also assigning you as her guide too. If she needs you for _anything, _you have to be there for her.'

Tsunade grinned and winked, which made Shikamaru brace himself. _Troublesome bat..._

'Well, aren't you going to introduce yourselves, boys?'

Shikamaru studied their new teammate. Something about her was off. She had light brown hair and it was wild and wavy like Kurenai's. Her eyes were dark purple, which was extremely strange; save the Hyuuga clan's or the Inuzuka clan's eye colour. She was dressed in a short brown zipped-up jacket that just covered her ribcage and showed off far too much cleavage, and underneath a fishnet shirt came down to her navel. Around her curvy waist were black shorts and a belt with a weapons pouch attached to the side. Her skin was bronze, like his, and suited her very well.

Hopefully she wasn't a dirty pervert like Ebisu. Everyone knows what he's like.

Shikamaru was glad she didn't dress like Guy. There are already two clowns-too-many in this village. They didn't need a girl acting like a retard in green Lycra.

Shikamaru felt a smirk play on his lips, but he held it back, twitching. He'd never thought of the words _curvy _or _cleavage. _He'd never seen those things in girls. Well, he _had_, being a boy, but he'd never paid any close attention to them. Not until this girl appeared. What about her compelled Shikamaru to look at new things in new ways?

He sighed and shook his head. Ayame was talking to Chouji, the two of them laughing as if they were friends who'd lost touch and just been reunited. Shikamaru wondered why Chouji didn't get any girls. He was nice, funny and a good guy to get along with. Sure, he's a bit..._ big boned_... but he's got just as much muscle. Shikamaru had seen firsthand how strong Chouji was, and he pushes himself to do better than he's ever done before. He could knock over a cliff if he wanted to. Hell! He probably already has. And yet, as strong as a dozen oxen –possibly stronger– and the strongest person Shikamaru had ever come to know, he was also the most kind-hearted and gentle. If he saw a kitten up a tree, he'd postpone what he was doing to rescue it. He'd fetch a runaway balloon for a little kid, where others have watched it fly away, never to be seen again. He's a cheery and strong but gentle guy. What the fuck is wrong with girls? How can they not see it when he clearly can?

_Fuck, I need a drink..._

Ayame waved a hand in his face. Annoyed, he slapped it away.

'Oh, so you _are_ alive.'

'I _should_ bedead instead of my _teammate_.'

Silence. A silence in which people recalled and remembered. He could see it in Chouji's eyes. They glazed over and his head hung. Tsunade had her hands together in front of her mouth and a frown stuck on her brow. He couldn't tell if she was recalling or just thinking. She was always in a sour mood. Ayame looked confused and lost. She had nothing to recall. She was an outsider. No memories, no fun times, no missions to laugh about after a hard day. She had her memories in the land of the Claw. Ayame left Konohagakure years ago, apparently, and sounded like a prodigy. Oh yeah, prodigies last in this village.

Itachi: killed everyone in his clan but his little brother then fucks off to the Akatsuki and starts killing people with his pet shark-human thing Kisame or something like that.

Sasuke: Was bitten by Orochimaru and wanted to become stronger to kill Itachi so he can avenge his clan and blah blah blah. Ran off after trying to kill Naruto, obviously failing to do so and joined Orochimaru.

Ayame: worked under Guy –so she's bound to have a screw or two loose– and Anko –whom is frequently troubled with the curse marks when Orochimaru is near. Something Sasuke went through too. And Itachi also had trouble with Orochimaru. Now, Anko uses jutsus like the Striking Shadow Snake, something Orochimaru must have taught her. Shikamaru had no doubt that Anko would have used that jutsu for Ayame to evade. He frowned. He'd found something, now he had to put the pieces together.

Long ago had the silence ended, and everyone looked at Shikamaru, waiting for him to say something.

'Uh... so you trained under Anko?'

'Yeah.' The end of her sentence sounded more like a question to answer his.

'Cool, I guess... Do you like snakes?' He asked slowly.

Shikamaru saw something in her eyes. Something wrong. A glint in her eye that someone like Naruto or Kiba got when they were excited to fight. Through her mild attractiveness (he had to admit it), there was something untrustworthy that he noted. Before anyone could react on anything, Tsunade kicked them out. Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and started to walk off when a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

'I don't think so,' Chouji said, 'you're coming to Ichiraku's with us to welcome Ayame into the team.'

'Whatever. It's not like I have things to do.' He grumbled.

'You never have anything to do but sleep.' Shikamaru wanted to deny it, but Chouji was right. He released his grip and they all walked together through the Hokage Tower.

It felt wrong to Shikamaru. He'd done this countless times before, with and without his friends. But it had always been the same friends. Walking with someone new felt weird and awkward. Walking with Ayame felt _wrong. _

'So, Ayame,' Chouji started. 'Tsunade said you used to live here?' They were sitting in some seats at Ichiraku's, comfortably eating. Well, while Chouji practically inhaled his ramen, Shikamaru could barely touch it, and Ayame was eating while Chouji babbled. Why was there a foreign feeling in his stomach? And why was it caused by a _girl? _And why wasn't Chouji getting the same feeling from her too? He frowned, staring at his ramen. What did he even order? He didn't know. He got what Chouji was having, then zoned out when Ayame started talking about how she missed the ramen in Konoha. Shikamaru didn't care to hear what she had to say. He had other things on his mind.

He'd zoned into the conversation this time, listening as Chouji told her the good things about the different types of ramen. He'd always enjoyed listening to Chouji, even know, when he had nothing interesting to talk about. But he was too busy worrying about Ayame.

'Oh, Chouji, that reminds me! I have to check something out. I'll catch up with you guys tomorrow at the training grounds, if I remember where it is.' Ayame said, getting out of her seat. How can ramen remind anyone of anything? Shikamaru watched through the corner of his eye as she grabbed out some money. She seemed to be in a rush, because she pushed the money into Chouji's chest, let go and let it drop into his lap, said goodbye and thanks to everyone and quickly walked away. Shikamaru turned in his seat and watched which way she went, pushing his ramen over for Chouji to eat. Ayame's shoulders were hunched, and her arms were crossed to keep herself warm – no surprise that she's cold, Shikamaru thought, since she's wearing close to nothing. He noticed the way her hair brunette hair bounced slightly with each step. Left, right, left, right. And with every step, her bu– Damn. She turned the corner.

Chouji let out a heartfelt _Ahhh _when he was done, and turned to Shikamaru with a big grin. 'God, that girl knows almost as much as I do about ramen and she paid for _everything _we ate. I think I'm in love.' He announced with a chuckle. The shadow nin smirked, and got out of his seat. He had a plan.

'Hey, where are you going, Shikamaru?'

'The Hokage assigned me as her guide. I'm guessing that if I don't follow her Tsunade's going to bite my head off.' He said goodbye to Chouji and started following Ayame.

He had no reason to trust her. Following her could lead him right into a trap or ambush. But she wouldn't be that stupid. Tsunade had made it clear that he was a chunin too that morning. If she'd planned an attack for him, she had another thing coming. As he turned the corner she did, he just managed to see her again. She'd gone through the housing part of the South side, where there were tight rows of houses lined up next to each other and then some more about two or three meters in front. They were narrow, and the road in the middle bended. Something about the path she had taken made Shikamaru think she didn't want to be followed.

He started to go a little faster, trying to keep her in sight but a good distance away so he wouldn't be detected. He hadn't lied to Chouji. If he didn't follow Ayame, the Godaime _would_ bite his head off. But neither Shikamaru nor Tsunade specified in the ways that he could follow her. So, like a stalker, he continued, using the shadows he had mastered to give him cover in the darkening night.

Had they really been out all day with Ayame? It didn't seem like that long ago when they were in the Hokage tower being introduced to one another. And that was the morning; now he was following her to God knows where, trying to find out if he could trust her or not.

He'd followed her through almost the entire left half of the Konoha. Where the hell is she going? Wait, let's rephrase that: does she even know where she's going? Constant left turns and then right turns, and once she turned back and went the other way, which caused Shikamaru to back up to a door and cover himself with the shadows very quickly, almost falling over a bin and blowing his cover. But Ayame had walked straight past him. He let out a sigh of relief.

They made it to the lake at the top-left of the village. Shikamaru didn't know much about this part; just that there was a shrine on the top of the rocks, to who it was dedicated, he didn't know. He'd never really come to this part of Konoha. Ayame saw the water and looked around, a small smile on her perfect lips, a glint in her deep purple eyes. Shikamaru almost slapped himself. Then Ayame turned and ran to the dock. Shikamaru followed, but he couldn't use the building as a cover. The moonlight was shining on the wrong side. So he watched her from the roof, withdrawing his shadow that stretched onto the wall behind him. He watched and waited.

Ayame stopped dead at the end of the dock. She could feel the particles of water in the air around her; calling to her. How long had it been since she'd seen or felt clean water? Months? Years? Her master let her out sometimes when he wanted her to 'clean up' a mistake that someone who worked for him made, and she found a number of different bodies of water wherever she went. Especially the Land of Waves. That was the first time Ayame had seen an ocean. That was where her master had taught her how to use the water as a weapon, and the Summoning Jutsu. That memory would stay with Ayame forever. It was the happiest day of her life.

She took off her shoes and sat down, cross-legged. The water's call had become louder, she heard it clearly. But she had to stay in control. _'Take control of the tide,' _her master had taught her, _'or you will be the water's slave forever.' _When she was learning how to do so, she had to meditate in the middle of the ocean. Legs crossed, eyes closed, holding the hand sign of the Dragon. The first time she'd tried to take control, waves had grown bigger at the beaches and the water around her had shifted eerily. Little octopus arm-like shapes were springing out of the water. Ayame had lost concentration, screamed, and almost drowned. Her master had to save her countless times before she got the hang of it. Then he taught her how to summon. That was a lot harder. She'd practised for months trying to summon the mother, but she could only summon the babies; her twin daughters, Amachi and Amade, and her son, Amatomaru.

For months Ayame had tried to summon the mother, but often got sidetracked when Amatomaru wanted to play with her. When her master had seen how glum she was because she couldn't summon the mother, he had also noticed how her kin had become so close to Ayame. He called her over and summoned the mother, Amayatsu.

Amayatsu took one look at Ayame and tried to kill her, thinking that Ayame had kidnapped her baby. _There was a lot of pain that week, _Ayame thought with a small smile. _But every bit was worth it. _

She opened her eyes and stood. The calling was gone. If it came back, she would sit and meditate to make it go away again. She could control the water easily when she didn't hear it. Plus it annoyed the hell out of her.

With a deep cleansing breath, Ayame leapt into the water.

Shikamaru was about to fall asleep. Ayame had just sat down and started meditating. She was so troublesome and boring. The shadow nin frowned.

'Uhh… Shikamaru?' Came a familiar voice behind him. And then a low _Grrr_ which was also familiar.

He ignored his canine friends.

'What are you doing here?' Kiba asked, kneeling down next to the shadow nin. Akamaru jumped down from the building above them, landing silently and lying down behind Kiba. He had grown a lot bigger since the last time Shikamaru had seen him. Before Shikamaru could tell the fanged nin to shut up and go away, Kiba almost started howling.

'Dude! That's Ayame. What are you doing spying on her? Just go down there and grab some of that before I do.' He whispered excitedly.

'You've met?' Shikamaru asked, his brow creased in confusion.

'Yeah. I was at the gates this morning waiting for Shino and Hinata to come back from their mission and she walked straight up to me, wanting to know where the Hokage was. I told her and then she introduced herself and we started talking until Shino and Hinata got back. I swear, Shikamaru, if you don't get in with that, I'm taking it from you. But I'm giving you time on this one, buddy. I know you haven't had luck with women of late, so I'm going to help you out.'

'Maybe because my teammate just died?' He suggested coldly.

Kiba seemed unfazed, and Shikamaru felt like hurting him. The fanged nin just shrugged. 'Maybe. Just go down there and talk to her before…'

Kiba trailed off. Shikamaru's eye grew wide. Ayame had stood up and jumped into the water. She was standing on top of the water, using the chakra to keep herself from falling in. And then she started… dancing? Shikamaru couldn't tear his eyes away as Ayame jumped, ducked, rolled, flipped and twisted on the top of the water. The shadow nin marvelled at her balance; if anyone else were to try that, they would surely fall in. Was the meditating so she could charge the chakra into her feet?

He saw Kiba grin from the corner of his eye.

Ayame's moves were very concise, and it looked like she was _dodging_ more than dancing. He could imagine someone throwing some kunai or shuriken at her. And he could see her using those movements to block them. Nonetheless, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

'Well, shit. Sorry, buddy. But I've just decided that I'm going to try and tap that.' Kiba said, his eyes narrowing as if he was locked onto a prey he was hunting.

Kiba got ready to jump off the roof and get into that sexy nin. He was ready. But he couldn't move. He was stuck. He was telling himself to move, but he couldn't. Akamaru growled, alerting him to the chakra that was being used. And he knew it wasn't Ayame's.

'Now I know why you can't hold a girlfriend,' Shikamaru started, holding the hand sign of the rat. He was lucky that there was enough moonlight to cast a shadow, but he was using it as the Possession jutsu, and it had removed his cover. He had to make sure that, when he let go of the jutsu, Kiba would go away. 'It's because you treat them like they're toys; something you can use and then throw away when you get bored.'

Kiba growled. Shikamaru was hurting his pride. He let go of the jutsu, and Kiba didn't move.

'So come back when you have respect for women.'

'Pffft, says the man who _hates_ women.' Kiba spat. Akamaru growled at the shadow nin.

'There's a difference between finding them to be troublesome and hating them.' Shikamaru clarified. The fanged nin and his companion were gone. 'Finally.' He muttered. The water shifted and started swirling around the dancing nin, and Shikamaru watched in awe when, as she moved her hands, the water came up to her arms and moved as she just did. Ayame was manipulating the water with her hands! Shikamaru could see the blue chakra as it pulsed from the ends of her fingertips.

Shikamaru jumped down from the building and knelt down at a tree once again using the shadows to aid him.

She straightened her fingers and placed one hand in front of the other, covering her nose and mouth. Her eyes were closed, and she stayed like that for a few seconds. The water crept up towards her in even lines, like octopus tentacles. Then they separated, and around a dozen small balls of water were floating around her. She opened her eyes and the water straightened too, looking somewhat like kunai.

Ayame started dancing again, quicker this time. The water kunais were flying everywhere, hitting walls or trees and dissipating just as quickly as they were thrown. One flew towards him, and he didn't move. He couldn't, or it's blow his cover. It slashed the side of his cheek and he grunted slightly.

'God, Shikamaru. You can come out now.'

He didn't move.

'Seriously, did you think I didn't know you were there? Not only does Kiba talk loud, but it's so easy to find someone when they reek of cigarettes.'

Damn.

'I mean, how long did you expect me to wait? Or did you just think you could follow me around all night and I wouldn't know?'

He sighed and came out from the shadows. Ayame looked like she was waiting, her hands on her shapely hips. He didn't say anything.

Ayame sighed. 'Look, your Hokage filled me in on what's happened, and I know you don't trust me. I may be a _little girl_ who likes to dance, but I'm not stupid. I know you were waiting for me to do something bad so you could be the big hero today. I tried to talk to you, but you weren't even listening, so I gave up. Some guide you are.' She scowled, and then suddenly yawned and stretched. 'I'm going to go to sleep now. Are you going to follow me again?'

Shikamaru didn't answer. He couldn't find anything to say. He frowned.

'Fine. Good night, Shikamaru. Oh, and sorry about the scratch.' She said with no empathy whatsoever.

**Ok there's the first chapter. Please review; tell me what's wrong what's right blah blah blah. Thanks. *hugs***

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